The Government has accepted the mediation report on the Bawku conflict submitted by the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, and has directed the immediate return of rival chief Alhaji Seidu Abagre to Nalerigu, under the authority of the Nayiri.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, December 17, and signed by the Presidential Spokesperson, Felix Kwakye Ofosu, the Government said it had fully endorsed all the recommendations contained in the report, which was presented the previous day.
The statement also reaffirmed the Supreme Court’s ruling on the rightful overlord of Bawku.
According to the Government, the mediation report offers a comprehensive, fact-based, and forward-looking framework aimed at achieving lasting peace in the long-standing conflict in the area.
It reiterated the legal standing of Naba Asigri Abugrago Azoka II as the lawful Bawku Naba.
A key and immediate directive from the government is the recall of the rival chief, Alhaji Seidu Abagre.
“Government will immediately facilitate the safe movement of Alhaji Seidu Abagre to Nalerigu, where he shall remain available to receive the directives of the Nayiri,” the statement read.
In a development to address the root causes of the conflict, President John Dramani Mahama has also directed the establishment of a One Billion Ghana Cedi (GHS 1,000,000,000) Bawku Revitalisation Fund.
The fund, to be disbursed from 2026 to 2028, aims to rebuild critical infrastructure like roads, healthcare, education, and irrigation facilities to restore Bawku as an economic hub in Northern Ghana.
It will be managed by a high-level committee chaired by the Finance Minister, Cassiel Ato Forson.
The government’s statement called for national support, urging all parties to accept the report’s conclusions “in the supreme interest of peace and national stability.”
This endorsement directly contradicts Nayiri’s earlier position, where he labelled the mediation process “orchestrated” and “procedurally flawed,” and vehemently denied ever agreeing to the report’s contents.
The Bawku chieftaincy dispute, a decades-long conflict between the Kusasi and Mamprusi, has been a persistent flashpoint for violence and instability in the Upper East Region.
